Loan Repayment Assistance Program

William & Mary School of Law’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program assists graduates, beginning with the Class of 2004, who work for government agencies or 501(c)(3) organizations, as described below.  Assistance is in the form of annual interest-bearing loans which are forgiven if the recipient satisfies all program requirements and remains in qualifying employment.  Funding is provided on a calendar-year basis, with disbursement in February.  The program consists of the following funds:

The John Levy Loan Repayment Fund, established in honor of Professor Emeritus John Levy for his lifelong commitment to public service and his distinguished career safeguarding the rights of the unrepresented and underrepresented.

The Ernest W. Goodrich Law Public Service Endowment, established through a bequest by Mr. Goodrich, a 1935 William & Mary graduate who practiced law in Surry, Virginia, for nearly 60 years,  and served as president of the Law School Association and Rector of the William & Mary Board of Visitors.

The Richard and Laurie Bellinger Loan Repayment Assistance Endowment, established by the Bellingers, friends of the law school, to encourage and assist graduates to take positions of high social value but low pay.

The R. William Arthur Loan Repayment Assistance Endowment, established by Dorothy Ellett Arthur in memory of her husband, The Honorable R. William Arthur, William & Mary Law Class of 1940, a highly respected lawyer and jurist in Wytheville, Virginia, who devoted much of his career to public service.

The Gregory A. Presnell Loan Repayment Assistance Fund, provided by The Honorable Gregory A. Presnell, U.S. District Judge, who earned his undergraduate degree from William & Mary in 1964.

The William & Mary Public Service Fund, a student organization that raises money for loan repayment and summer public service fellowships.

Eligible applicants will:

• have an annual salary of $50,000 or less for first-time applicants (the salary cap increases to $53,000 for an applicant in the second year of assistance and $56,000 in the third year); and
• be working full-time for a legal aid/legal services organization; public defender; prosecutor; government agency; JAG corps; or an academic, law-related, nonlegal, or other 501(c)(3) organization with a public service mission.  Partisan political work and judicial clerkships are not eligible.

A maximum of $5,000 in loan forgiveness will be awarded annually per recipient.  Each recipient will be eligible for up to $15,000 ($5,000 per year for three calendar years).

Selection criteria include commitment to public service, nature of the job, salary, law school loan debt, quality of the personal statement, cost of living in the applicant’s place of residence, and the applicant’s financial circumstances.

Loan Repayment Assistance Program Application

Loan Repayment Assistance Program Recertification Form

Federal Student Loan Repayment Program
William & Mary’s program is not the only loan repayment assistance available. A number of governmental agencies have programs subject to their own criteria. Through the Federal student loan repayment program agencies may pay federally insured student loans in order to recruit and retain employees.